Chapter 66: 17th Floor: In Search of the Hidden Ending
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: 17th Floor: In Search of the Hidden Ending
Thud... Thud...!!!
The vibrations grew stronger as the giant cyclops approached.
The boss with the highest death rate on the 17th floor.
In other words, the Nightmare of the 17th Floor.
You might underestimate it, thinking it's only 20 meters tall, but you truly feel its size the closer you get.
A human has to crane their neck to look up at a mere 3-meter-tall troll, often too intimidated to even look it in the eye.
So what about a 20-meter-tall creature? That's roughly the size of a massive seven-story commercial building.
And its power? If its height doubles, its mass increases eightfold.
So for a 20-meter cyclops?
Even generously assuming a human is 2 meters tall, the cyclops is 10 times the height and 1000 times the mass.
Of course, the larger a creature gets, the less powerful it is relative to its body weight, but the fact that this thing can even live in a body that size means it has overcome that limitation to some extent.
Thud... thud... thud, thudthudthud!!
The beast began to run toward me.
'Look at that... How is that even possible?'
The Nightmare of the 17th Floor.
A 20-meter giant was charging at me.
It caused a slight sense of cognitive dissonance.
'How can a creature that massive run like that...'
Every time I blinked, the beast's form grew visibly closer. A red veil of air formed around it, and the ground shook so violently it was hard to even stand properly.
The idea that bigger monsters are slower is a common prejudice. Their bones and muscle tissue are so tough and resilient they could be considered the pinnacle of bio-engineering.
[Kraaaaaaaah!!!!]
The cyclops roared as it charged.
The sheer sound pressure made my ears ring.
'How in the world did I kill this thing back then...'
The standard strategy was to go down the giant pitfall trap tech tree, trap it, and then unleash an all-out assault before it could climb out.
Of course, I didn't need anything like that now.
I drew power up from my legs.
[Deep-Rooted Great Tree]
A skill that rendered me immobile for a time but granted immense strength and defense.
With this skill, I stood firm on the vibrating earth.
[Sky Breaker]
One of the SS-rank spear-throwing techniques of Karios Deirn, where one plants their feet on the ground and aims high into the sky.
I raised all my buffs to the sixth stage.
Then, just as the beast reached for me, divine power spread through my entire body, and I hurled the spear with all my might.
Shwoop...!
With a sound like tearing air, the spear flew as fast as light and pierced directly through the cyclops's eye.
[Kuaah...?]
A gaping hole was blown through the center of its eye, revealing the blue sky and the spear flying up into it.
Splaash!!
An incredible amount of blood gushed out, pouring onto the earth as the massive body collapsed.
Kuuuuung...
[You have cleared the 10th wave. Reward: 10,000 points.]
"Hoo... I had to put some muscle into that."
Now I could feel it for certain.
'I've... already surpassed my past self.'
When I recalled the memory of trying to kill that thing in my past life, climbing up between its legs only to be shocked by a dick bigger than my own body, it was clear that my current self on the 17th floor was far stronger than my past self had been.
- What the, how'd you do that?
- ???
- (Basically a curse telling you not to cheat)
- The eye is its weak point, but still...
- Didn't some kind of aura just rise up from her body? Was I the only one who saw that?
"Ahem... I'll invest this in Hero Upgrades and move on to the next wave."
I retrieved my spear and began clearing the waves, now taking on three or four at a time.
I invested all the points I earned into Hero Upgrades, taking appropriate breaks and replenishing my divine power as I went.
"There should be plenty of time."
It was more difficult than I'd expected, but after getting through the initial part and progressing through the waves little by little, it became manageable.
There were aerial monsters and monsters that moved underground, but since I already knew how to deal with them, they weren't much of a challenge.
I rested when I was tired and continued with the waves once I recovered. Repeating this process, I soon cleared up to the 39th wave.
It was a grand journey that took a whole 16 hours.
I spent every moment fighting, except when I was eating.
"Haa... haa..."
A round moon now hung in the sky.
'Damn... this is seriously tough.'
[Hero's Strength +151%]
[Hero's Agility +151%]
[Hero's Defense +151%]
[Hero's Divine Power +151%]
My stats had increased significantly.
The feeling that I was gradually getting closer to my past life's body was the only thing helping me push through this grueling ordeal.
[Time Remaining: 37 hours 22 minutes]
I checked the time and felt a small sense of relief, then collapsed onto the dirt floor and fell asleep.
*
The next day was a repeat of the last.
The only difference was that I stopped after the 48th wave.
I only had two more to go, 49 and 50, but I stopped here.
"It's still not enough. I'm going to clear the underground dungeon, too."
- ???
- Can't you just clear it? You're almost there.
- What's she doing now?
"Ah... Did I forget to mention it?"
To be honest, I had been waiting for the right moment to say something, thinking the viewers would complain if I brought it up earlier.
"Uhm... by any chance, do you all know about the hidden ending on the 17th floor?"
- What are you talking about? The 17th floor only has a true ending.
- Huh? I think I've heard of that somewhere?
- ?
- There was something like that?
- ?? ? : Do you have a moment to talk about the Path?
- What? But I've heard of it too.
- What is it, some kind of ghost story?
That's right.
The only thing publicly known about the 17th floor was the true ending.
To get the true ending, you had to completely conquer the underground dungeon and clear the floor with all resource bases activated.
But as the chat showed, rumors of a hidden ending had spread by word of mouth, like a half-baked ghost story.
"No. There's a hidden ending on the 17th floor that you all don't know about."
And today, I was going to put that ghost story to rest.
*
The past. About seven years ago.
A time before any signs of division had appeared between us.
The guild masters of the seven great guilds, including myself, were gathered in the meeting room of the Korean Alliance.
"This is the last video a party member from our guild recorded."
The blonde guild leader of the Ohsung Guild showed us a video.
"What, is this the 17th floor?"
"Don't tell me... has the hidden ending of the 17th floor finally been found?"
Everyone focused on the video, tense with anticipation.
In the video, someone on the 17th floor summoned 1st-floor goblins, then forcibly pushed them back into the portal from which the monsters were pouring out.
And then...
[You have entered Hell.]
A very blunt message appeared before him and then vanished, along with the portal.
"Wh-what the hell! The portal can't just close like that!"
The man in the video panicked as he fought the goblins.
After a desperate struggle, he managed to defeat them, but...
Waiting for him was an army of every monster from the 1st to the 50th floor.
And behind the monsters, a massive black tower stood starkly against a dark sky with a red moon.
"N-No way!!"
In the end, all the monsters attacked, and the video ended with him dying after a short fight.
Everyone who watched the video could guess what it meant.
That there was a hidden ending here.
Everyone wanted to keep this information secret, but I reported it to the World Awakener Association.
Unfortunately, the World Awakener Association didn't recognize it as a hidden ending due to insufficient information. It was regrettable, but that was the standard procedure.
I recorded the video and the compiled data in the "Hidden Ending Speculation" section of the 17th-floor documents, but because of the extreme difficulty, the act of entering the portal in reverse was deemed a bug or an entry into a place not meant to be accessed by the system, and it was eventually removed from the speculation section.
After that, rumors trickled out, and some people tried to challenge it, but no one ever managed to clear it.
*
"Well, it's something that people in the know are aware of. But so far, no one who has gone inside the portal has ever survived."
The chat window grew a little noisy.
But I had made up my mind to do this from the very beginning.
- Why do you have to do that? Is it because of the mission? You don't have to, Do-hee...
- For real, we'll cancel it, you bitch. Just don't go.
- This is making me nervous.
- You guys don't trust Lee Do-hee?
- Ahem... but that really does look dangerous.
- At least tell us why you're going. It's not really because of the mission, is it?
"Of course not. If it were for the mission, it would be more beneficial to just clear the 50th wave quickly and move on to the next floor. However..."
The reason I was so determined to see the hidden ending.
My past mistake.
The guilt I felt for the countless promising prospects who died because of my petty sense of justice.
'If I hadn't reported it, so many people wouldn't have died trying to challenge it... It wasn't my fault, but that doesn't mean I bear no responsibility.'
"I want to show people. There are probably guilds and promising newcomers secretly trying to clear the 17th floor's hidden ending even now. It makes sense. Not only do the rewards increase, but you also gain fame."
"The fact that no one has succeeded yet must mean they're all dying. Naturally, the ones challenging it would be strong for their floor and have good traits. Isn't it a shame?"
- That's true.
- For real, being talented became a curse for them.
- Do-hee, you too...
"That's right. It could happen to me, too. But I don't think it will. I'm going to show you. I'll show you just how hard the 17th floor's hidden ending is, and what it takes—what level of skill you need—to clear it."
I will show them.
I will show them how difficult it is.
And this hidden ending of legendary difficulty, which I myself brought to light—I will clear it and wash away my own mistake.
Hidden endings and true endings aren't things you're supposed to challenge even if you know about them.
But for people to even attempt it, they must be strong for their floor. Isn't it a terrible waste for them to die?
"With that said, I'm heading to the underground dungeon to farm some points!"
The underground dungeon had a total of 10 levels. There were no gimmicks, just pure combat.
It took me a total of six hours to clear it all.
Except for the final boss, a high-ranking demon, I pretty much steamrolled through everything, cutting them down in one go.
By the time I came out, it was night again.
"Haa... I'll rest for a bit before I go in."
[Time Remaining: 19 hours : 32 minutes]
In the meantime, I took another shower with fresh water and ate a meal.
I replenished my depleted divine power by drinking my breast milk and then took a short nap for about three hours.
*
At dawn, as the morning light began to break.
Watching the rising sun, I ran across the wasteland.
The edge of the map.
I arrived at the place where the portal would spawn.
The entire area was covered in a black liquid, as if to prevent anyone from ever leaving.
"Well then, shall we begin...?"
- Gulp.
- This is making my heart pound.
- Please.
- What if it's a map that's literally designed for you to not go in...
- Good luck.
Even I was a little nervous at this moment.
With a slender hand, I opened the system window and summoned the 49th wave.
Wooooong~~!
An oval portal about 5 meters high opened before my eyes, and monsters began to pour out.
The 49th wave was the army of the undead.
Liches, Skeleton Knights, Dullahan, and Abominations began to emerge from the portal, preparing to advance.
However,
Fwoosh!!
When I swung my spear, the undead army crumbled as if they were common skeletons. Ignoring the ones that were regenerating, I charged forward with my spear leading the way.
[Welcome to Hell.]
Well, the fact that it told me something could be considered kind, couldn't it?
As the system message faded, the portal behind me vanished, and the undead that hadn't made it out yet launched an all-out assault.
"Hehehe... You think you stand a chance?"
I stacked all my buffs to 10 stacks.
And adding the hero buff on top of that...
[Hero's Strength +355%]
[Hero's Agility +355%]
[Hero's Defense +355%]
[Hero's Divine Power +355%]
<Final Stats>
Strength: 1365
Agility: 1760
Defense: 873
Divine Power: 11106
- ????
- Are those human stats?
- Wait, holy shit lololol
- What the?
- Wow;;
- Wait, hold on a minute!!!
- This ain't right, you bitch.
It wasn't quite as much as in my past life, but I could feel my power returning to a level close to it.
"Heheheheheh... Die, all of you!!!!"
[Firefly's Blade]
My divine power flew forward in the shape of a crescent blade.
The bodies of all the undead in a straight line were severed at the waist.
The damage of a skill like this is typically affected by the skill level, the divine power consumed, and is modified by my maximum divine power and agility stats.
Agility, as the name suggests, functions as reflexes, but the current consensus is that it also represents control—the fine muscles that help control everything, be it strength or magic.
The overwhelming power swept away all the monsters. Those struck by divine power couldn't even resurrect and simply returned to a handful of dust.
The final boss of the 50th floor, a Black Dragon, heard the commotion and unleashed its Dragon Fear.
Grraaaaaa———Krrraaaaaaa!!!
It wasn't a sound, but a vibration that struck my entire body.
Its body alone was 50 meters long, and it could use all sorts of magic. It was a boss whose death rate rivaled that of the 10th-floor boss, but...
[Meteor Spear Fall]
I leaped high into the air and threw my spear.
Unable to withstand the massive skill output, the capillaries in my body burst, and blood trickled down my skin.
"Haaaaaaaap!!!!"
Unlike the spear throw on the 4th floor where I had only mimicked the posture, this one flew with a red tail like a meteor.
As if a giant meteor were falling from the sky, it blazed with red light and fell directly on the dragon.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwang!!!
It created a massive explosion, carving a giant crater into the ground.
Meteor Spear Fall, a name given because it looked just like a small asteroid falling.
The final boss of the 50th floor died instantly without being able to do a thing.
But no message appeared saying I had cleared it.
"Just as I thought. There must be something over there."
The black tower, standing tall under the red moon.
It was covered in sharp spikes, befitting the name of a Demon King's castle.